BIRD NEWS 



THE ROLLER CANARY. 



The roller canary is the bird of 

 song, just as the Belgian or the 

 Scotch Fancy is the bird of position. 

 It is most gratifying to note that size 

 as well as song is now becoming a 

 feature of the Roller. When we con- 

 trast some of these of today with 

 those of 10 or 15 years ago the re- 

 sult of "big" blood is most evident. 



The Roller is frequently known as 

 the Hartz Mountain canary. Of 

 course the canary is no more native 

 to the Harty Mountain than he is to 

 Bethal Green or Lancanshire, — but 

 in the Hartz the birds have been 

 brought to such a high standard of 

 perfectian that the name is insepara- 

 ble from the breed. The bird is not 

 a haphazard production, but one 

 which is the result of many years of 

 faithful and presistent breeding and 

 schooling. 



If you visit the bird district of the 

 Hartz, you will, if you get into chat 

 with some of the oldest inhabitants, 

 and there are some very old ones, 

 you will sooner or later hear the 

 name Trute mentioned. Trute was a 

 master-bird man, his birds looked 

 better, and sang so much better than 

 those of surrounding fanciers that 

 the name at last became one by which 

 the best birds were "branded" and 

 sold accordingly. Never could we 

 exactly get to the bottom of the 

 romance of Trute. 



An air of mystery still clings there 

 around, be that as it may, we are 

 much inclined to believe that our de- 

 ceased friend was just one of those 

 natural bird men who have an "in- 

 stinct" which seems to "hit the right 

 thing" in bird management and then 

 are shrewd enough to follow up with 

 constant attention, all the minor de- 

 tails, which are so often ignoi-ed by 

 the general run of fanciers. It is the 

 old story of close observation plus 

 practical utility of the fact thus ob- 



served. It is not uncommon to find 

 that the less experienced think that 

 the Hartz canary and the Roller are 

 two distinct species. This confusion 

 would be easily cleared up if it was 

 only remembered that "Roller" is the 

 type character, "The Hartz" — simply 

 the place of birth. There are, as all 

 travelers, in the fancy know, many 

 other continental "bird" sections, 

 equally famous for the production of 

 Rollers. 



Some years ago, when in New 

 York City, the sign, "Bird Show up- 

 stairs" arrested our attention. We 

 soon were among the exhibits. After 

 the usual "birdy" talk the president 

 showed us a souvenir of the sea, viz, 

 a German bird-organ, which was one 

 of the very few "survivors" saved 

 from the ill-fated steamer La Burgo- 

 yne. What memories it recalled. The 

 days of the amateur fancier when 

 we thought the possession of a bird 

 organ and its faithful use would 

 guarantee perfect songsters. The 

 amateur fails to remember that it 

 needs much "ability" to get results, 

 and the dull routine of the machine 

 can never produce the results secured 

 by tuition under a good "schoolmas- 

 ter" (that is a good singing bird). It 

 needs a good ear, long acquaintance 

 with the birds and much patience to 

 properly estimate a bird's value as a 

 Roller. A good bird is slow, steady 

 and uniform in his song, he will go 

 through his song, with much charac- 

 ter, vocalize his notes and mark 

 time, in each roll, at the same time 

 blend into the succeeding roll with 

 sustained harmony. A quick slurring 

 bird never makes a good Roller. The 

 hollow rolls are the principal parts, 

 and the definition of these, with the 

 different "key" effects are the factors 

 which go to constitute a good song- 

 ster. It is by no means an easy mat- 

 ter to obtain a high class Roller, un- 

 less one is an expert or goes to the 



